JAKARTA: Malaysian palm oil futures fell on Wednesday, tracking weakness in Dalian palm olein and Chicago soyoil.

The benchmark palm oil contract for July delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange slid RM32, or 0.71 per cent, to RM4,504 (US$1,140.25) a metric ton in early trade.

Dalian’s most-active soyoil contract rose 0.16 per cent, while its palm oil contract shed 0.62 per cent. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were down 0.19 per cent.

-Advertisement-

Palm oil tracks the price movements of rival edible oils, as it competes for a share of the global vegetable oils market.

Cargo surveyors estimated that exports of Malaysian palm oil products for April 1-25 fell between 15.7 per cent and 16.8 per cent from a month earlier.

Indonesia’s state palm oil company Agrinas Palma Nusantara is expecting its crude palm oil output in 2026 to reach around 2 million tons, said director Seger Budiarjo, nearly double its previous estimate of 1.07 million tons.

Oil prices rose on Wednesday, extending a multi-day rally, on reports the US will extend its blockade of Iranian ports, likely prolonging supply disruptions from the key Middle East producing region.

Stronger crude oil futures make palm a more attractive option for biodiesel feedstock.

The ringgit, palm’s currency of trade, weakened 0.03 per cent against the dollar, making the commodity slightly cheaper for buyers holding foreign currencies.

Palm oil may test support at RM4,475 per ton, a break below which could open the way towards RM4,408-RM4,440 range, Reuters’ technical analyst Wang Tao said.

Markets got off to an uneven start in Asian trading on Wednesday as worries about the Iran conflict and health of the AI sector dominated ahead of the Federal Reserve’s decision and earnings from tech megacap stocks later in the session.

Source : NST